


The Thief

by Itneveroccurredtomeatall



Series: Torchwood Bingo 2020 [3]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Serial Killers, Gen, Medical Examiner, Medical Professionals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26726227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itneveroccurredtomeatall/pseuds/Itneveroccurredtomeatall
Summary: This is the third body that's missing a face and a heart which means Cardiff has a serial killer on the loose.A medical examiner / detective AU
Series: Torchwood Bingo 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1919335
Kudos: 6
Collections: Torchwood Fan Fests: Bingo Fest 2020





	The Thief

**Author's Note:**

> Owen's a medical examiner and Andy's his assistant / a junior medical examiner. Jack, Ianto, and Gwen are detectives and Tosh is still a tech genius. 
> 
> This is for my Missing square! 
> 
> I've procrastinated a lot and have to write three fics today so this is the first and the other two will come soon :) 
> 
> Also - warning for a sort of graphic & disgusting description of a murder victim and inaccuracies in the process of investigating a crime scene

Owen Harper groaned into his steaming cup of coffee as the phone rang. 

“Want me to-” Andy started to offer as he paused his examination of Mrs. Belize’s fingernails, but Owen waved him off. 

He set his mug down, shoved his chair back from the desk, and reached for the phone. “Owen Harper,” he said into the receiver. 

“Nice to know I can get some help, if I need it,” came an almost-American accented voice over the line.

“Bugger off.” Owen paused. “What do you need?” 

“There’s been another victim,” Jack said. “Gwen, Ianto, and I are on the scene. And it’s not pretty. Think you could spare a few minutes?” 

Owen sighed. “Send me the address.” 

Jack rattled off the address and Owen hung up. 

“Andy?” he called out across the morgue to the other man. 

“Yeah?” 

“Wanna come along today?” 

Andy’s eyes lit up. “Really?” 

“I’m sure she’s not going anywhere fast,” Owen said as he stared at the corpse Andy had been examining. “And my hand’s been cramping. I need someone to take notes so make sure to bring a pad and pencil. And block off some time later to file the paperwork.” 

* * *

Owen parked just outside the police tape. A small crowd had started to form. Vulture reporters swarmed while curious pedestrians stopped their walks and craned their necks to catch a glimpse of what would probably be the most exciting part of their month. If a murder could be called exciting…. For Cardiff, Owen thought, it certainly was. 

Owen and Andy got out of the car and pushed their way through the curious crowd of onlookers. Owen flashed his badge to the coppers on crowd control and entered the house with Andy at his heels. 

The instant he opened the front door, the stench assaulted him. It was strong. Thick. To be honest, it made him feel more than a little sick. Even after all these years, even after all those night shifts in A&E during his residency, even after spending the last several years as a medical examiner in the morgue, he still wasn’t used to the smell of death. At least not fresh death. 

Andy, apparently, was even less used to the smell of death. Owen could hear him gagging slightly so he turned around to find the other man leaning against the wall with his eyes squeezed shut.

“Do you need to wait in the car?” he demanded.

Andy shook his head. “I’m fine,” he said as he opened his eyes and met Owen’s gaze, but Owen thought Andy looked paler than usual, which was saying something. 

Not that Owen had much room to talk. He blamed the fact that they spent most of their day in the windowless morgue. 

“Uh huh…. Well, if you feel like you’re going to throw up, go outside. Ianto would kill me if you contaminated the crime scene and I’ll kill you if you get any of it on me,” he muttered darkly. 

Andy gave him a shaky thumbs up and then straightened up. “I’m fine.” 

“We’re upstairs!” Gwen called. 

Owen turned away from Andy and climbed the stairs. 

When he reached the top, he saw Jack, Gwen, and Ianto standing in the hallway, the victim at their feet. 

Owen had never quite been able to figure out how Jack got away with wearing a World War II-era military coat on the job, but every single time he’d met the man Jack had been wearing the old coat. 

“Glad you could make it,” Jack said as he waved Owen over. “So, Tosh is back at the station and running what’s left of this face,” he gestured to the victim’s face which resembled ground meat more than a face, “through several systems to find a match. She’s a genius, but we’re not holding out hope on getting anything useful.” 

Owen approached the body and surveyed it quickly. Heavyset, broad shoulders, no face. The poor bugger’s chest had been torn open and, where the heart should have been, there was nothing. 

It was the third case Owen had seen like this, making this officially the work of a serial killer. The other two had been the same: faceless and heartless. And they still weren’t able to identify the first two victims even though the first murder had occurred three months ago. 

“The Lewis Family - that’s the owners of this house - was on vacation in America for several weeks and arrived home to find the body,” Ianto informed Owen. “They have no idea who it could be. They gave their spare key to the neighbor.” 

“We’ve already interviewed her,” Jack cut in. “She didn’t do this and doesn’t know who would have.” 

Owen nodded as he knelt down beside the body and took a closer look. 

“Right, Andy?” he said after a few moments. 

“I’m ready,” Andy said as he stepped forward, pad and pen ready. 

Owen quickly shared his observations as Andy diligently took notes and, once he’d finished, made Andy read them back. 

“Of course, we’ll have to confirm some of that back at the morgue,” Owen told Jack, Gwen, and Ianto. 

“Of course,” Ianto said. “Any estimate on how long that might take?” 

“We should have the post-mortem done by dinner,” Owen said. 

“If Tosh doesn’t get anything, we can gather tissue samples, but the results won’t be back for a few days,” Andy said. 

“Thank you, Andy,” Gwen said. “That would be really helpful.” 

“Dim problem,” he muttered as a blush rose in his cheeks. 

Owen had to resist rolling his eyes. Andy had been interested in Gwen Cooper from the first day they’d met. Gwen would not-so-subtly work her boyfriend’s name into the conversation and Andy would pout for the rest of the day while he puttered around the morgue and shared unwanted stories of his past failed romances. 

“Right, well, we should be going,” Owen said. “They’ll send someone else in to pick up the body. I’ll give you a call once we’re done with the post-mortem.” 

“I look forward to it,” Jack said. 

“C’mon, Andy. If we leave now, we should have time to grab some coffee and finish Mrs. Blize’s post-mortem before this body arrives,” Owen said. 


End file.
